The fallout from Donald Trump's response to a deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville escalated Wednesday as two CEO-dominated groups organized to help the president chart a course toward U.S. economic and job growth were disbanded.

Early Wednesday afternoon Trump tweeted "Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!"

But a dissolution led by the members of at least one of the panels appears to have already been in the works and was set to be announced. Trump used Twitter to beat the members to the punch.

Two administration officials said council members had spoken with White House officials in recent days, though they didn't know if Trump himself got involved. The CEOs held a conference call to discuss their role with the White House.

The disbanding of the groups followed a cascade of departures from the manufacturing council kicked off Monday by Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier who said he quit the manufacturing council as "a matter of personal conscience."

Frazier's resignation prompted an angry rebuke from Trump on Twitter. "Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!," Trump tweeted.

Despite the attack against Frazier and the drugmaker, his exit was followed soon by CEOs of Intel and Under Armour and representatives from labor union AFL-CIO.

Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison and 3M CEO Inge Thulin Wednesday joined the growing list of American chief executives who resigned from the council, an advisory group the White House formed this year.

Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!

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Ken Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer of Merck speaks, with President Donald Trump at left, during an event to announce a Merck, Pfizer, and Corning joint partnership to make glass containers for medication, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 20, 2017, in Washington. Merck CEO Ken Frazier quit President Trump's manufacturing jobs council on Aug 14, 2017, following the president's widely criticized response to violence that erupted after a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville over the weekend.
Alex Brandon, AP

Chief International Economist for the AFL-CIO Thea Lee testifies at a U.S. House committee hearing on Impact of Currency Manipulation on U.S. Business and Workers, in Washington, D.C. on May 9, 2007. Economist Thea Lee left President Trump's manufacturing jobs council on Aug 15, 2017.
Bloomberg, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Scott Paul, Alliance for American Manufacturing. Paul tweeted "I'm resigning from the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative because it's the right thing for me to do." on Aug. 15, 2017.
Alliance for American Manufacturing

Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich delivers the keynote address during the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich stepped down from President Trump's business advisory council late Monday, becoming the third chief executive to cease working with the administration following Trump's response to the white nationalists' rally in Charlottesville, Va.
Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, speaks during the 2016 Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. "I cannot sit on a council for a President that tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism; I resign, effective immediately," tweeted Trumka on Aug. 15, 2017.
Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

Kevin Plank, Founder and CEO of Under Armour is photographed at the Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore, Md on Dec. 14, 2014. Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said late Monday he's stepping down from President Trump's manufacturing job council, joining Merck and Intel in distancing his company from the administration.
H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Inge Thulin, the Chairman, President, and CEO of 3M Company, stepped down from the council on Aug. 16. Seen here, Thulin speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations on May 16, 2017, in New York.
Mark Lennihan, AP

United Technology Corporation CEO Greg Hayes stepped down from the council on Aug. 16.
On Feb. 23, 2017, Hayes participated in a meeting between President Trump and manufacturing executives at the White House in Washington.
Evan Vucci, AP

Johnson and Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky stepped down from the council on Aug. 16. He took part in a meeting between President Trump and manufacturing executives at the White House on Feb. 23, 201.
Evan Vucci, AP

After internal and external pressure, Trump relented and mentioned the hate groups, including neo-Nazis and KKK. But in a defiant return to form, Trump stood before reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower Tuesday afternoon and said counter-protesters were also to blame for the tragedy that left three dead and dozens hurt.

CEOs who initially chose to stick with the councils had cited the need to stay engaged with the White House to make meaningful changes. But the steady drumbeat for them to disassociate from Trump was unrelenting and inspired the Twitter hashtag #Quitthecouncil.

As manufacturing sector chief executives began to jump ship, none of the CEOs on Trump's economic council — the Strategic and Policy Forum — had quit as of Wednesday morning. But they also began to receive inquiries from activists and reporters about their intentions. And as resignations began to mount and the story refused to wane, the CEOs on the policy forum began contemplating its future.

"We believe the debate over forum participation has become a distraction from our well-intentioned and sincere desire to aid vital policy discussions on how to improve the lives of everyday Americans," read the forum's statement that was issued through private equity firm Blackstone, whose CEO Stephen Schwarzman chairs the group. "As such, the President and we are disbanding the forum."

The chief executives' resignations may have business motives as well, said Bill Klepper, professor of management at Columbia Business School. "I think they’re finding the cost of alignment with Trump is too high," he said. "They have a social contract to stakeholders (that says) here’s what we stand for. These are our core values. Here’s how we’re going to contribute and win as a business in society. And we’re going to do it through ethical principles."

"And lots of things Trump has been doing or not doing come close to violating the social contract," Klepper said.

There have been questions about the councils' effectiveness from the start, and some critics dismissed them merely as photo opportunities for a president whose central campaign was about restoring jobs.

In quitting his spot, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the manufacturing council has "yet to hold any real meeting" since it was formed.

"There are real questions into the effectiveness of this council to deliver real policy that lifts working families,” he said.

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A women tries to stop John Miska from cutting off the black tarp that was put over the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that stands in the center of Emancipation Park (formerly Lee Park), on Aug. 23, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Earlier this week the Charlottesville city council voted unanimously to cover Confederate statues.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images

A man takes a picture of a statue of Confederate General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson that has been covered by black tarp by the city, at Justice Park in Charlottesville, Va on Aug. 24, 2017. The city draped black canvas over statues of two Confederate generals on Aug. 23, at Emancipation Park and Justice Park following the violence that occurred at the on Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. A vehicle, who police say was driven by James Alex Fields Jr., smashed into a crowd of counter-protesters 12 August, resulting in the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer and the injury of more than two dozen others. The city council has voted to remove the Lee statue but a lawsuit has put that action on hold.
Michael Reynolds, European Pressphoto Agency

This Aug. 21, 2017 photo shows the Confederate monument in Woodlawn Cemetery after it was vandalized over the weekend. Workers have started taking down the memorial at the city-owned cemetery in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Lannis Waters, The Palm Beach Post via AP

Bert Cambron, left, and Mark Wilson employees of Dayton National Cemetery move the vandalized Confederate soldier statue that stood in Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery on Aug. 22, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus police say vandals appear to have climbed on an arched memorial at Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery and toppled the statue atop the monument to the ground. The soldier's head and hat were knocked off. Police say the vandals took the head but left the hat.
Eric Albrecht, The Columbus Dispatch via AP

A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is removed from the University of Texas campus on Aug. 21, 2017, in Austin, Texas. University of Texas President Greg Fenves ordered the immediate removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from a main area of campus, saying such monuments have become "symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism."
Eric Gay, AP

A pedestal wrapped in plastic that had held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee which was removed from the University of Texas campus early Monday morning is photographed on Aug. 21, 2017 in Austin, Texas.
Eric Gay, AP

A woman yells at counter protestors during a protest held at the former Durham County Court House, following rumors of a march planned by the KKK and other white supremacy groups, in Durham, N.C.
Caitlin Penn, EPA

Counterprotesters march against a potential white supremacists rally on Friday, in Durham, N.C. The demonstration comes a week after a fatal clash during a 'Unite the Right' rally between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Va.
Sara D. Davis, Getty Images

'Death To The Klan' is written on what's left of a monument statue of a Confederate soldier toppled by protesters on Aug. 14, 2017, as counterprotesters arrive in front of the former Durham County Court House, Friday.
Caitlin Penna, EPA

People march in the streets protesting against a possible march by the Ku Klux Klan in Durham, N.C. Hundreds of anti-racist demonstrators gathered in a North Carolina city in response to rumors of a white supremacist march.
The sheriff had issued a statement that he was investigating the rumors, but no gathering of white supremacists was apparent by mid-afternoon. However, officers blocked streets and businesses closed.
Jonathan Drew, AP

In this Aug. 14, 2017 file photo, a protester kicks the toppled statue of a Confederate soldier after it was pulled down in Durham, N.C. Bombarded by the sharpest attacks yet from fellow Republicans, President Trump on Aug. 17, 2017, dug into his defense of racist groups by attacking members of own party and renouncing the rising movement to pull down monuments to Confederate icons.
Casey Toth, AP

The defaced Gen. Robert E. Lee statue stands at the Duke Chapel on Aug. 17 2017, in Durham, N.C. Duke President Vincent E. Price said in a statement that he had already been meeting with members of the Duke community to discuss how to deal with strong reactions to the statue. But he says its wrong for an individual to vandalize a house of worship.
Bernard Thomas, AP

John Raymond Alvarez, who favors moving the confederate monument, left, argues with Gary Snow, who favors leaving the monument, after a news conference in front of the old county courthouse in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 17, 2017.
James Borchuck, AP

From left, Ngoc Loan Tran, 24, Peter Gull Gilbert, 36, and Dante Emmanuel Strobino, 35, leave a courtroom in the Durham County Courthouse after their first court appearance after being arrested Wednesday for the toppling of the Durham County confederate statue during a Monday protest, on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Durham, N.C.
Casey Toth, AP

Dante Emmanuel Strobino, left, chants with Jason Bowers, center, and Kate Bowers, before a protest outside the Durham County Jail where many lined up to "symbolically" turn themselves in for the toppling of the Durham County confederate statue during a Monday protest, but officials at the jail, where the magistrate's office is located, blocked their entry into the buildings, on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Protesters then supported Strobino, and three others, who then made their first court appearance for being arrested Wednesday for the vandalism.
Casey Toth, AP

Lamont Lilly symbolically turns himself in for the toppling of the Durham County confederate statue during a Monday protest, but officials at the jail, where the magistrate's office is located, blocked their entry into the buildings on Aug. 17, 2017, in Durham, N.C.
Casey Toth, AP

The defaced Gen. Robert E. Lee statue, center, stands at the Duke Chapel on Aug. 17 2017, in Durham, N.C. Duke President Vincent E. Price said in a statement that he had already been meeting with members of the Duke community to discuss how to deal with strong reactions to the statue. But he says its wrong for an individual to vandalize a house of worship.
Bernard Thomas, AP

This June 5, 2017 file photo shows a monument to Arizona Confederate soldiers, presented by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1961, amid other memorials at Wesley Bonin Memorial Plaza on the grounds of the Capitol complex in Phoenix. The memorial has been cleaned after it was defaced with paint a second time this week amid controversy over Confederate statutes and other honors.
Angie Wang, AP

A concrete slab remains where a stone and plaque memorializing the resting place of Confederate soldiers from the Civil War was removed at the Confederate Rest section of Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Madison Mayor Paul Soglin ordered the removal of the monument, as well as another at the site. Soglin said Thursday that the monuments to confederate soldiers are being removed because the Civil War was "a defense of the deplorable practice of slavery." (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) ORG XMIT: WIMAW201
John Hart, AP

A monument memorializing the resting place of Confederate soldiers of the Civil War stands in the Confederate Rest section of Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Madison Mayor Paul Soglin ordered the removal of the monument, as well as another at the site. Soglin said Thursday that the monuments to confederate soldiers are being removed because the Civil War was "a defense of the deplorable practice of slavery." (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) ORG XMIT: WIMAW202
John Hart, AP

John Raymond Alvarez, who favors moving the Confederate monument, left, argues with Gary Snow, who favors leaving the monument, after a news conference in front of the old county courthouse in Tampa, Fla. ,on Aug. 17, 2017.
James Borchuck, Tampa Bay Times via AP

The defaced Gen. Robert E. Lee statue stands at the Duke Chapel on Aug. 17 2017, in Durham, N.C. Duke President Vincent E. Price said in a statement that he had already been meeting with members of the Duke community to discuss how to deal with strong reactions to the statue. But he says its wrong for an individual to vandalize a house of worship.
Bernard Thomas, The Herald-Sun via AP

From left, Ngoc Loan Tran, 24, Peter Gull Gilbert, 36, and Dante Emmanuel Strobino, 35, leave a courtroom in the Durham County Courthouse after their first court appearance after being arrested for the toppling of the Durham County confederate statue during a protest on Aug. 17, 2017, in Durham, NC.
Casey Toth / The Herald-Sun via AP

Dante Emmanuel Strobino, left, chants with Jason Bowers, center, and Kate Bowers, before a protest outside the Durham County Jail where many lined up to "symbolically" turn themselves in for the toppling of the Durham County confederate statue during a Monday protest, but officials at the jail, where the magistrate's office is located, blocked their entry into the buildings on Aug. 17, 2017, in Durham, N.C.
Casey Toth, The Herald-Sun via AP

The defaced Gen. Robert E. Lee statue, center, stands at the Duke Chapel on Aug. 17 2017, in Durham, N.C. Duke President Vincent E. Price said in a statement that he had already been meeting with members of the Duke community to discuss how to deal with strong reactions to the statue.
Bernard Thomas, The Herald-Sun via AP

This June 5, 2017 file photo shows a monument to Arizona Confederate soldiers, presented by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1961, amid other memorials at Wesley Bonin Memorial Plaza on the grounds of the Capitol complex in Phoenix. The memorial has been cleaned after it was defaced with paint for a second time this week amid controversy over Confederate statutes and other honors. The state Department of Public Safety says troopers on Aug. 17, 2017, confirmed that the Confederate Troops Memorial at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza had been painted. The DPS says a suspect described as a white man in his 40s was last seen riding a bicycle nearby.
Angie Wang, AP

A concrete slab remains where a stone and plaque memorializing the resting place of Confederate soldiers from the Civil War was removed at the Confederate Rest section of Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wis., Aug. 17, 2017. Madison Mayor Paul Soglin ordered the removal of the monument, as well as another at the site. Soglin said that the monuments to Confederate soldiers are being removed because the Civil War was "a defense of the deplorable practice of slavery."
John Hart, AP

Workers load statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson on a flatbed truck in the early hours of Aug. 16, 2017, in Baltimore, Md.
Statues of key figures in the Confederacy were removed overnight as a campaign to erase symbols of the Civil War-era, pro-slavery secessionist republic gathers momentum across the United States. The statues in Baltimore were removed four days after clashes in Charlottesville, Va., following a rally called by white supremacists to protest plans to remove a statue of Lee from a public park.
Alec MacGillis, AFP/Getty Images

A city worker removes the detail sign at the former Roger B. Taney monument in Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore, Md., after it was removed by the city on Aug. 16, 2017.
Tasos Katopodis, AFP/Getty Images

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh talks about the late night removal of four confederate statues in the city, Wednesday. The City of Baltimore removed four statues celebrating confederate heroes from city parks overnight.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images

A monument featuring Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, left, and Robert E. Lee stands in Wyman Park in Baltimore, Md., near Johns Hopkins University. The monument was a gift from J. Henry Ferguson, a prominent local banker. Jackson and Lee were childhood heroes of Ferguson. The statue was erected in 1948, 24 years after Ferguson's death. Maryland was a border state during the Civil War. A slave state that did not secede from the Union and did not join the Confederacy.
Sean Dougherty, USA TODAY

Susan Bro, mother to Heather Heyer, speaks during a memorial for her daughter, on Aug. 16, 2017, at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Va. Heyer was killed Saturday, when a car rammed into a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally to protect Confederate monuments.
Charlottesville, Pool photo by Andrew Shurtleff

Artist Sam Welty creates a chalk mural of Heather Heyer during her memorial service, in Charlottesville, Va, Wednesday. Heyer was killed Saturday, when a car rammed into a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally.
Julia Rendleman, AP

A sign calling for Emancipation Park to be renamed after Heather Heyer is placed at the base of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, blocks from where she was killed and 19 others injured when a car slammed into a crowd of people protesting against a white supremacist rally, Saturday, in Charlottesville, Va.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

The statue of Confederat Gen. Robert E. Lee stands in the center of Emancipation Park, Sunday, the day after the Unite the Right rally devolved into violence in Charlottesville, Va. The Charlottesville City Council voted to remove the statue and change the name of the space from Lee Park to Emancipation Park, sparking protests from white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and members of the 'alt-right.'
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Marcus Martin, right, hugs his fiance Marissa Blair, left, during the memorial for Heather Heyer, at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Va. Martin pushed his fiance out of the way of the vehicle that killed Heyer last Saturday and was injured himself.
Andrew Shurtleff, Pool photo by Andrew Shurtleff

President Donald Trump speaks to the press, Tuesday, about protests in Charlottesville after his statement on the infrastructure discussion in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York.
Donald Trump found himself in the eye of a political storm Wednesday, again after his stunning remarks on the unrest in Charlottesville, which sparked unease within his own camp and could be a turning point in his already chaotic presidency. Just about 200 days into his term, the US leader crossed a red line in saying there was "blame on both sides" for the melee, which began when a rally by white supremacists over the removal of a Confederate statue turned violent, as they clashed with counter-protesters.
Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images

A paint-covered monument to Confederate soldiers who died in an 1863 battle stands along a road in Knoxville, Tenn., on Wednesday. Communities across the US are reconsidering whether their Confederate monuments should continue to stand in public places.
Erik Schelzig, AP

An empty pedestal remains where a statue of Roger B. Taney, former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and majority author of the Dred Scott decision, once was before city workers removed the statue August 16, 2017 in Baltimore, Md.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images

People look at the empty pedestal where the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument once stood, Wednesday, before city workers removed the statue in the early morning hours.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images

A student tour group poses at the site where a statue dedicated to Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson stood Aug. 16, 2017 in Baltimore, Md. The City of Baltimore removed four statues celebrating confederate heroes from city parks overnight, following the weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Va.
Win McNamee, Getty Images

Charlottesville resident Sina Kamlani walks through the Downtown Mall outside of the memorial service for Heather Heyer on Wednesday. "The world's going crazy but the good people need to stand up," she said.
Julia Rendleman, AP

A bystander takes a picture of the monument dedicated to the Confederate Women of Maryland after it was taken down early Wednesday, in Baltimore. Local news outlets reported that workers hauled several monuments away, days after a white nationalist rally in Virginia turned deadly.
Jerry Jackson, AP

Hillsborough County Commissioners meet about the possible removal of a Confederate statue, Aug. 16, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. If enough money isn't raised by private citizens to move a Confederate monument in Florida to a private cemetery it will remain on public property, officials decided Wednesday, casting doubt on an earlier vote to remove it. The Hillsborough County Commission's vote came just days after a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
Chris O'Meara, AP

Butch Fox of Tampa, who takes care of the Confederate Memorial Park grounds in Seffner says this is the worst incident that's happened here on Aug. 15, 2017. "We're not a racist organization," said Fox. "We don't condone what happened in Charlottesville." The Confederate Memorial Park was vandalized over the weekend in response to the incident in Charlottesville, Va., where three people died during a white-nationalist rally.
Octavio Jones, AP

Jacksonville resident Terri Smith prays at the base of the Woman of the Southland statue in Jacksonville's Confederate Park at the end of a rally in Jacksonville, Fla, on Aug 15, 2017. "I was saying a prayer to heal all the anger and racial divide. It's clouding the peoples judgement. We should be celebrating our veterans" said Smith. Several organizations wanting the removal of confederate monuments and have the names changed on schools and bridges met at the base of the Woman of the Southland statue in Confederate Park North of downtown Jacksonville. Roughly 30 demonstrators against the monuments and around 10 who wanted them left alone were kept in check with the presence of around a dozen members of the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office.
Bob Self, AP

The issue of removing Confederate monuments isn't new. Members of the public hold signs both for and against moving a Confederate monument called Memoria In Aeterna during a Hillsborough County Commission meeting in Tampa, Fla., on July 19, 2017. One month after deciding not to move the 106-year-old Confederate memorial from public property, the Hillsborough County Commission on Wednesday is taking up the issue again.
Chris Urso, AP

Members of the Take Em Down Jax organization hold a banner with the list of offending confederate monuments, Tuesday, as well as buildings and locations they want renamed during a rally in Jacksonville's Confederate Park in Jacksonville, Fla,. Several organizations wanting the removal of confederate monuments and have the names changed on schools and bridges met at the base of the Woman of the Southland statue in Confederate Park North of downtown Jacksonville. Roughly 30 demonstrators against the monuments and around 10 who wanted them left alone were kept in check with the presence of around a dozen members of the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office.
Bob Self, AP

Elechi Egwuekwe, 16, clenches her fist as she stands in front of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Health Sciences Park, in Memphis, at the conclusion of a protest showing support for those who were injured or lost their lives on Saturday in Charlottesville, VA.
Yalonda M. James, The Commercial Appeal

A reflection of Jefferson Davis's Confederate statue is seen in a puddle of water as protesters hold hands while surrounding the monument at Memphis Park on Tuesday. The action comes days following the death of Heather Heyer after the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. "We can not celebrate MLK50 with these statues in our city," said activist Tami Sawyer.
Yalonda M. James, Yalonda M. James/The Commercial

Theryn C. Bond (center, left) receives a hug from Taylor Cook, Saturday, as they stand in front of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Memphis, during a protest showing support for those who were injured or lost their lives on Saturday in Charlottesville, VA.
Yalonda M. James, The Commercial Appeal

Activist Yuleiny Escobar quietly sits on Tuesday during a protest near the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, the late former slave trader, Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan member, early Tuesday morning. Escobar and a small group of protestors were told by Memphis police officers to leave the park because it was closed. "All of our events have been nonviolent, peaceful events and it doesn't matter if only five of us show up, they send twenty plus police officers," said Hunter Demster of Coalition of Concerned Citizens.
Last October, the Tennessee Historical Commission denied Memphis City Council's application to relocate Forrest's statue. A protest held at Health Sciences Park on Saturday continued the call to have the statue removed. The city is preparing to sue Tennessee to remove Memphis's two Confederate monuments: Forrest, in Health Sciences Park, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, that is located at Mississippi River Park in Downtown, according to City Attorney Bruce McMullen. This news comes a day after Mayor Jim Strickland condemned white supremacists for the violence in Charlottesville.
Yalonda M. James, The Commercial Appeal

A protestor holds a socialist flag, a symbol of socialism, left-wing politics and communism, at the base of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Health Sciences Park, Saturday.
Yalonda M. James, The Commercial Appeal

Aleida Escobar, 9, sits at the base of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue, in Memphis on Saturday, during a protest in support of the those killed and injured in Charlottesville, Va.
Yalonda M. James, The Commercial Appeal